Ukiah children's library shut down due to mold

The children's room at the Ukiah library on North Main Street is shut down until further notice after county employees found mold in a window, a wall and the ceiling, according to Mendocino County Librarian Mindy Kittay.

Employees with the Mendocino County Risk Management Division of the county's General Services Agency came in and closed the doors at about 11 a.m. Friday, according to library manager Eliza Wingate. Yellow tape was hung across the glass double-doors that access the children's library, which is separated by a glass wall from the main library stacks.

"They were worried about children with asthma having a reaction," Wingate said.

Friday morning was the first time the library knew about the mold problem in the children's library, according to Kittay.

Wingate said someone reported seeing mold in a window of the library, and county inspectors arrived and found mold in windows throughout the library, and "extensive" mold in the children's library.

Kittay said she was waiting for a report from the county about how extensive the problem is, what kind of mold was found and how long it could take to correct the problem and reopen the children's room. She said she was also hoping to find out whether or not library staff can bring some of the children's books out of the room to set up a reading corner elsewhere in the meantime.

All events in the children's library, including Lego Time scheduled for Tuesday and A Child, a Dog and a Book on Wednesday, are canceled until further notice, according to Kittay.

"If this goes on longer than a couple of days, we'll figure out a way to do our storytimes somewhere else; we're not just going to stop," Kittay said.

Wingate said she hoped the county could work on the problem between Dec. 23 and 29, when the library will be closed for Christmas, and that the library staff could use the time to rearrange the library temporarily to make do for the closure.

"If not, you'll find us on the street corner reading stories," she joked.

To check library hours or for more information, call the Ukiah library at 463-4490, or visit the website, www.mendolibrary.org.

County staff at the Environmental Health and Risk Management divisions could not be reached Friday. Further information about the closure and mold problem will be reported as it becomes available.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter and Tout @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.